Harrison Retiring; Coleman to Lead Swimming Program

BRIDGEWATER, Va. – Bridgewater College Head Men’s and Women’s Swimming Coach Gwynn Harrison has introduced her retirement from teaching after her 10^th season with the Eagles. Assistant coach Ethan Coleman has been promoted to go coach and can lead this system shifting ahead.
 
“We are grateful for Harrison’s dedication and hard work over her last decade at Bridgewater,” stated Director of Athletics Curt Kendall. “Not only has she built a successful program in the pool, but she has built a community and team culture that is well recognized across the conference.”
 
Harrison was tagged as the pinnacle coach for the Eagles’ girls’s swimming program for the 2016-17 season, and she or he was the founding head coach for the lads’s program when it started varsity competitors within the 2017-18 season.
 
The Ohio native took this system to new heights proper out of the gate. The girls’s group broke 19 faculty information in her first season and set a then-program-best 10-1 dual-meet document within the 2017-18 marketing campaign. The two packages continued to set information and enhance yr after yr throughout her tenure. In whole, the Eagles tallied eight first-team All-ODAC choices, a pair of ODAC Swimmer of the Meet and a pair of ODAC Rookie of the Year awards. Additionally, Harrison was named the league’s 2023 males’s coach of the yr.
 
“Stepping away is hard, but what we’ve built here gives me peace in doing so,” stated Harrison. “Ten years ago, I had a vision for this program to become relevant, and the shape it has taken leaves me beyond proud and deeply fulfilled. I’m grateful for the support from our administration in making this decision.”
 
The 2024-25 season noticed the Eagles attain the nationwide stage for the primary time as Zachary Erb certified for the NCAA Championships and earned All-American honors. Erb adopted it up with a return journey this season as he earned All-American honors once more this previous week.
 
More necessary than her impacts within the pool, Harrison constructed a program with a powerful basis in group tradition, unity and respect. Harrison’s squad earned 5 Bonnie Kestner Sportsmanship Awards, offered on the ODAC Championships every season in recognition of excellent sporting habits.
 
Ethan Coleman will take over the packages for the 2026-27 season. Coleman has been an assistant with this system since 2020 and was lately elevated to a full-time assistant function in 2023.
 
“I’m really thankful and excited for this opportunity,” stated Coleman. “I’ve been a part of the program for the last five years and have gotten to see it grow a ton, and I’m excited to continue that. Gwynn has been an incredible mentor. I’ve been very lucky to learn from her.”
 
Coleman has a deep background in teaching on the membership and collegiate ranges. He has been an integral a part of student-athlete growth in his time at BC and has additionally been a key asset to the group’s tradition.
 
“[Coleman] loves this program deeply and will continue to grow it for the future, while continuing with its standard,” stated Harrison.
 
Harrison will support in this system’s transition interval by means of the top of the present tutorial yr.